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15 March 2012

vegan in granada part 2

oh granada, you are so full of life! from sleepy cordoba you welcomed us with arms wide open and showed us a really good time. if i could have, i would have stayed longer. as always, m and i took to the cobblestone exploring as much as we could as seen here if you missed it.

i loved all of the moorish influence in the archways and tiled doorways, the jumble of a streets lined with tea houses, and the lively tapas bars full of people! there seemed to be a great scene here and there was definitely a younger crowd out and about.

thank goodness for all of the walking because there was so much food to eat in granada! there were definitely more vegetarian restaurants there as well as restaurants offering vegan options, and in addition to that there were also the many tea houses with veg-friendly moroccan fare.

and of course we had to give tapas another chance in granada because they do it the traditional way - free tapas with your drink! i didn't believe it until i saw it but it's true - when you order your drink you're brought out a tapas of the bars choice. two highlights from our night of bar & tapas hopping were el jergon and loop bar.

el jergon is a tiny little bar with maybe a dozen seats between in the
bar and out front. there's quirky, campy decor all around {a big wall
mirror with plastic bugs glued to the frame, rubix cubes magically
stuffed inside liquor bottles, etc} and posters advertising local events
plaster the walls and it's definitely a locals spot. along with our beers the gal working behind the bar
gave us a plate of baguette topped with a red pepper puree and olives.
it was awesome and we wanted more so i asked her if i could see a menu
and she explained that there is no menu, she prepares what she thinks of
with what she has in the tiny corner of the bar! how fun! next up she
brought us a plate of fried potatoes and a crostini that that
unfortunately had cheese on it. the potatoes were enough to get us to
our next destination though!

my favourite bar of granada {and of the entire trip actually}, was loop bar & records. this was a place we just happened upon when we noticed they had vinyl in the window. and being that m & i love our records we had to check it out. it's a tiny little place but get this - they're a bar AND a record store. we had stopped for afternoon beers when we discovered it and then went back that night. the girl working was so sweet, and when we only ate half of our first tapas {the vegan half} she went away and came back with a fresh salsa & guacamole toasts! all that and amazing music - they were playing everything from destroyer, to pulp, to the national. what a great place.

there's also a lot of graffiti art around - check out these 2 pieces we came upon:

i think this translates to humanity is measured by how we treat others... and measured by how we treat animals

and this one - how many different animals can you see??

okay - but the meals. we had a couple really great meals in granada.

hicuri was a very casual eatery with murals and paintings
covering the walls, and in addition to serving breakfast, lunch &
dinner it's also a place to drop in just for coffee and linger over the
paper. we stopped in for lunch after a cool morning up high at the
alhambra i really wanted a warm drink.

finally a soy latte! {other than starbucks, it was virtually impossible to get a vegan milk alternative in your coffee.} i sipped while looking over the
menu. almost all of the vegan options were cooked dishes {rice, curry,
pasta, etc}. i was a little sad to find out that the hiziki & mung
bean croquettes had egg in them because that was what called to me most,
but in the end i went with a seitan stir fry with lots of veggies on
basmati rice. it was really quite good and the seitan was definitely
homemade. mark on the other hand ordered the veggie bolognese and was
not as impressed with it. to start, it was covered in cheese and
underneath he said it was a little blah. but for dessert we shared a
chocolate soy pudding topped with coconut and pretty much raced to the
bottom of the bowl!

we scouted out paprika earlier in the day while on a walk and as soon as i saw the rustic, stone front i was sold. when we returned in the evening it was a cozy, dimly lit room with brightly painted walls, exposed ancient brick and with an open concept kitchen. we chose a romantic tucked away table and settled in.

although their menu isn't entirely vegan, it's very clearly marked with vegan & gluten-free items. and if there is any doubt {i had a few questions}, our amazing server answered them {in quick, friendly spanish which i tried my best to understand!}. if only we hadn't stopped for an afternoon moroccan coffee and hummus we might have had more room, but as it was i wasn't all that hungry. after some wine, homemade bread and olives came our appetizer. we started with the raw salad, a gorgeous plate of lettuce, carrots, cucumber, apple, figs, roasted nuts and an olive oil, tamari and lemon dressing. it was so fresh and delicious! next we had the tofu and seitan plate which was totally yummy but terribly unphotogenic. and for dessert we went with their soyacotta. i've never had panna cotta so i couldn't compare it to any memory of the dairy & egg-laden alternative, but i really enjoyed it.

we both easily decided that paprika was our favourite restaurant meal of our trip.

our favourite non-restaurant meal though? definitely up on our rooftop for another al fresco meal of fresh bread, tomatoes, olives & wine on our last day of the trip. oh spain, you are so easy to love...

if you're still reading {sorry that was a big post!}, thanks for being a sport and letting me blab on about my trip! it was wonderful to seemingly extend it by another week as i sifted through our photographs and wrote about it. and about those photographs - must give credit where credit is due - my awesome husband took a solid portion of them.

9 comments:

I popped over here from Annie's An Unrefined Vegan and she's right, your photos are wonderful and you really make me want to go to Spain - right now! Tapas is great for veggies and vegans, and such a brilliant idea.

It sounds like you had a fabulous trip with lots of good food and wine! Your photos are beautiful and its very cool that you work collaboratively with your hubby. Thanks for all the restaurant tips! I think we will be doing a lot al fresco dining...kids :P

With great vacations comes excellent food! This getaway of yours is a total envy, what with all the food and sight-seeing you indulged yourself in. Just look at how delicious those tapas and teas are, waiting for you to dig in. Thanks for sharing your wonderful experience!